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Gas tariff for non-power sector to rise from Jan 1
Thursday, November 30th, 2017
at , Business | News

The average base tariff will increase to RM30.90 per MMBtu, from RM28.05 per MMBtu

By ALIFAH ZAINUDDIN / Graphic By TMR

Natural gas tariff for non-power sector in the peninsula will increase up to 16% from Jan 1 next year, after the the government approved the price revision for the energy.

Gas Malaysia Bhd said the average base tariff from Jan 1 to Jun 30, 2018, will increase to RM30.90 per one million British thermal units (MMBtu) from RM28.05 per MMBtu, as prescribed under the incentive-based regulation (IBR) framework.

However, under the gas cost pass-through (GCPT) mechanism, a surcharge of RM1.62 per MMBtu will apply to all tariff categories, due to the higher liquefied natural gas price against the reference price in the base tariff for the stipulated period.

This brings the average effective tariff price to RM32.52 per MMBtu.

The amendment will see residential consumers paying an effective tariff of RM23.92 per MMBtu from the current RM20.23 per MMBtu.

On Dec 28 last year, the government had ratified Gas Malaysia to bring into effect the revision of the natural gas tariff from Jan 1, 2017, until Dec 31, 2019. This allows changes in the gas costs to be passed through via the GCPT mechanism every six months.

As such, the base tariff per MMBtu is predetermined at RM26.71 for the period between January 2017 and June 2017; followed by RM28.05 (July-December 2017); RM30.90 (January-June 2018); RM31.92 (July-December 2018); RM32.69 (January- June 2019); and RM32.74 (July-December 2019).

The tariff revision is expected to contribute to- wards Gas Malaysia’s financial position for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2018, the company said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

The natural gas distributor’s net profit inched 3% higher to RM44.5 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017, from RM43.2 million in the corresponding quarter last year, owing to an increase in volume of gas sold and higher assets contributed by customers.

Quarterly revenue also increased by 31.4% to RM1.4 billion against RM1.1 billion a year ago.

The group anticipates the yearly increase in gas sales volume, and number of customers will sustain for the financial year 2017, with profitability expected to be in tandem with the level reflecting the prevailing tariff setting mechanism framework.